New obligations to manage psychosocial hazards are reshaping HR’s role in workplace health and safety. Use these best-practice tips to carry out a thorough psychosocial risk assessment.

Since last year’s introduction of a Code of Practice to manage psychosocial risks in the workplace, HR’s role in work health and safety has gradually been evolving.

“The HR function and the safety and risk functions have traditionally been separate,” says Sapphire Parsons, Senior Associate, Employment, Safety and Migration at Macpherson Kelley.

“But, in my view, [the focus on] psychosocial safety will result in an expansion of the HR portfolio into safety in most businesses.”

The new legislation demands a strategic approach to mental health, she explains, which treats psychosocial hazards with the same methodology used to manage physical workplace safety hazards. As a result, HR is now increasingly expected to adopt processes traditionally confined to risk management – for instance, conducting a formal risk assessment. 

These assessments, based on the four-part model of identifying, assessing, controlling and reviewing workplace hazards, have been applied to physical workplace safety risks for years. However, the complex nature of mental health means there are a number of additional considerations that HR should keep in mind when applying this risk assessment process to psychosocial safety hazards.

Below, Parsons offers tips for HR practitioners to conduct a psychosocial risk assessment that is thorough, empathetic and in line with the new legislation.

1. Identify stage: consultation and analysis

Assessing the risk of harm from any of the psychosocial hazards specified by Safe Work Australia should always start with employee consultation, says Parsons.

“The first thing I recommend to employers is to start with a psychological safety survey which goes through some of the most common psychological hazards, ranging from workplace behaviour to job demands, role clarity, and things like hours of work or isolated work.”

Employee consultation should also be continued throughout the subsequent stages of the assessment to ensure accurate information on the hazards and appropriate controls. 

As employers assess their work practices to identify psychosocial hazards, it’s important to analyse both the day-to-day of employees’ roles and any broader organisational issues that could be posing mental health risks, says Parsons.

“[For example], psychosocial risk management requires us to look at [things like] the way that the workforce is structured, the way we’re recruiting and retaining talent, and the composition of the senior leadership team, in order to assess whether all of those things are contributing to a greater risk of harm.”

[The focus on] psychosocial safety will result in an expansion of the HR portfolio into safety in most businesses.”  – Sapphire Parsons, Senior Associate, Employment, Safety and Migration at Macpherson Kelley

2. Assess stage: consider the impact and extent of the risks

During the assessment stage, HR should consider three key aspects of each identified risk: their duration, frequency and severity.

“[You might look at]: how often are those risks showing up? Is it all the time? Is it during peak periods? Is it because of a particular problematic manager in one area of the business, or a particular problematic colleague?”

To get an accurate view of the risks, it’s crucial to ensure the data is broken down and analysed based on the nature of employees’ roles and the departments they work in, she adds.

For instance, those working in office-based departments might be exposed to more interpersonal risks, while those working on construction or manufacturing sites may be exposed to more isolated work or changing conditions.

“You’re going to have different risks across different areas of the business, which means that the controls you’re implementing are going to be different depending on exposure.”

3. Control stage: design an action plan and get leaders on board

Per the psychosocial safety Code of Practice, employers are required to “eliminate risks to health and safety if it is reasonably practicable to do so”. If it’s not feasible to eliminate the risk entirely, employers must minimise the risk as far as reasonably practicable.

To help determine what control measures the business can feasibly put in place, HR should prioritise actions based on the severity and impact of the risk, as identified during the assessment stage. An action plan should then be developed for each identified risk.

“If the risk was a lot of long hours, we might start to look at things like fatigue management plans or putting in place maximum weekly hours,” says Parsons.

Another key aspect of HR’s role at this stage is getting buy-in from leadership to execute the proposed control measures.

Parsons highlights three key arguments HR can put forth to leaders to create a business case for a comprehensive psychosocial safety action plan. 

“[Firstly], there’s the risk of serious harm or fatalities…. For example, in high-risk industries like construction, if workers are fatigued, they’re not going to be as aware of safety issues showing up on site, so that fatigue can increase the risk of serious accidents,” she says.

“Then, of course, there’s the risk of safety prosecution.”

In some cases, executives can be held personally liable for breaches of general safety duties and/or failing to exercise due diligence, she explains. These breaches can result in individual fines of over $2 million.

Finally, Parsons recommends drawing leaders’ attention to the impact of psychosocially unsafe work practices on productivity and profitability. 

“The duration of a mental health claim [tends to be] significantly longer than a claim for a physical injury. So there’s more time away from work, and a higher cost of claims.”

4. Review stage: continuous monitoring and improvement

According to Safe Work Australia, control measure reviews should be conducted on a regular basis, and ad-hoc reviews are required:

• when the control measure is not eliminating or minimising the risks so far as is reasonably practicable
• before a change at the workplace that is likely to have new or different safety risks that the control measure may not effectively control
• if a new hazard or risk is identified
• if the results of consultation indicate a review is necessary, or
• if a health and safety representative requests a review because they reasonably believe one of the above has occurred and it has not been adequately reviewed already.

Follow-up employee surveys are one of the most effective review methods, since they allow HR to directly compare psychosocial safety levels before and after a control is implemented. 

Depending on the size of the organisation, HR might also consider setting up employee focus groups to provide regular insight on the efficacy of the strategy and any emerging risks that HR might need to consider.

A proactive review process with input from different cohorts of employees will help HR create a proactive and targeted strategy to weave psychosocial safety into every aspect of the business, says Parsons.

“It’s about taking a whole-of-organisation approach to workplace wellbeing and workplace behaviour, as opposed to [an approach based on] policies and procedures, as may have been the case in the past,” she says.

Want to hear more from Sapphire Parsons about HR’s evolving role in workplace psychosocial safety? Sign up for AHRI’s Workplace Wellbeing: Aligning Compliance and Psychological Safety Strategies webinar on 4 September and discover strategies to foster a supportive workplace that mitigates physical and psychosocial risks.